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Split-ticket voting popular in Montana, N.D.

When it comes to voting for president and U.S. senator at the same time, people in North Dakota and Montana really like splitting their ballots. Republican Mitt Romney easily carried both of these states in

Split-ticket voting popular in Montana, N.D.

Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, center, will succeed Kent Conrad in the U.S. Senate.(Photo: LM Otero, AP)

When it comes to voting for president and U.S. senator at the same time, people in North Dakota and Montana really like splitting their ballots.

Republican Mitt Romney easily carried both of these states in the presidential election, but Montana voters decided to send Democratic Sen. Jon Tester back to Washington, and North Dakota voters picked Democrat Heidi Heitkamp to represent them.

Split-ticket voting is quite the rage for these states: The
Smart Politics blog found that Montana and North Dakota voted one party for the White House and the other for U.S. Senate more than 50% of the time in the election years when both races were on the ballot.

Montanans, in fact, seem to prefer a Republican president and a Democratic senator, according to the Smart Politics analysis. In 10 elections, or what amounts to 55.6% of the time, this is how Montana voted.

Heitkamp's surprise victory in North Dakota was the ninth time out of 17 elections that the Peace Garden state voters split their tickets. That's 52.9% of the time.

Smart Politics is the blog at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs.